News & Notes:

By Kevin Zwick Staff Reporter Capitolwire HARRISBURG (July 31) – House GOP leaders announced they will not return to the Capitol next week to vote a bill enabling Philadelphia to increase its cigarette tax to help fund its schools. House Speaker Sam Smith and Majority Leader Mike Turzai have asked Gov. Tom Corbett to advance […] More »

Competitive bodybuilder and Delaware Valley Charter High School rising junior Nixlot Dameus hasn’t always been able to bench press 405 pounds; in Catherine Kang’s ‘Art and Craft of Poetry’ class he shared that the painful motivation behind his strength is actually years of bullying. Dameus, a 15-year-old Haiti native who in 2013 captured the Mr. Philadelphia […] More »

When House members return to Harrisburg on Monday to consider the cigarette-tax bill that would help fund Philly’s schools, the legislation most likely will head to the Rules Committee, where it will be amended, a spokesman for the top Republican says. Read more More »

This monthly update from the U.S. Department of Education will alert readers to new resources that inform policy and practice across several areas of education reform. Highlighted Resources The Reform Support Network has published a series of tools to help Race to the Top States sustain their reforms. First, the Sustainability Rubric Summary provides a […] More »

King of Prussia, PA — Voting to fill four open Charter School Leader positions on the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) Board of Trustees ended on Friday, July 25, 2014. Incumbents Larry Jones, Karen DelGuercio, and Joanne Barnett were re-elected to two-year terms. Anthony Pirrello was elected to his first two-year term. All […] More »

An organization that represents more than three dozen D.C. charter schools filed a federal lawsuit against the District on Wednesday, alleging that the city has failed to provide uniform operating funds for charter and traditional schools as the law requires. Read more. More »

At a heated meeting that touched upon racial and economic issues, the Easton Area School Board again rejected a charter school application. The proposed Strong Foundations Charter School submitted a new application to the district last month. In March, the board rejected its first application, saying the planned school did not offer a curriculum that […] More »

A state Charter Appeals Board decision to grant a charter to Propel to open a K-12 school in the Sto-Rox School District could result in the exodus of hundreds of students from the financially and academically troubled district. Read more. More »

Latest Posts from Commonwealth Foundation’s Policy Blog Study: Charter Schools More Efficient JULY 28, 2014 | JAMES PAUL It is impossible to do more with less, they say; you cannot expect schools to achieve better results without increasing spending.Yet an essential new report from the University of Arkansas dispels this myth by measuring the cost effectiveness […] More »

As the House continues to gavel in and out of non-voting session and rumors swirl about the possibility of session next week being cancelled, Philadelphia schools are losing out on critically needed money as they await the finalization of a cigarette tax authorization bill. Read more. More »

National Alliance for Public Charter Schools July Update Click here to view in your browser Gina Mahony Senior Vice President Government Relations Greetings!In a few days, Congress will depart Washington, D.C. for a five week summer recess. Here at the National Alliance, we’ll spend our time gearing up for their return on September 8th. In […] More »

Haley Wilson, a rising senior at KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy, is spending days this summer in the law department at GlaxoSmithKline, learning about patents, trademarks, and what it takes to bring a new medicine to market. In all, 74 seniors from the West Philadelphia charter school with a college-prep focus are exploring careers and learning […] More »

This year’s STEM Summit on August 28, 2014 is designed to allow educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and innovators of all type to come together and learn about real solutions to enhance teacher professional development, encourage student engagement, and provide learning opportunities in traditional and non-traditional environments. In the spirit of TED conferences the STEM Summit […] More »

It is impossible to do more with less, they say; you cannot expect schools to achieve better results without increasing spending. Yet an essential new report from the University of Arkansas dispels this myth by measuring the cost effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of charter schools compared to traditional public schools (TPS). The authors find significant […] More »

On July 23 the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education unanimously struck down a proposed amendment to expand the Environmental Charter School’s presence in Pittsburgh (“Charter School Expansion at Frick Rejected,” July 24) despite the Pittsburgh Public Schools staff recommending the proposed amendment. There is currently considerable demand for the Environmental Charter School, with a wait […] More »

The 2014-2015 class is rapidly filling, but applications are available now for the 2014-2015 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day retreat on September 18-19, 2014 and continues to graduation in June 2015. On October […] More »

The Basic Education Funding Commission held its inaugural and organizational meeting today (July 24) and is now ready to begin its work developing an adequate and fair system for distributing state money to local school districts, according to Senator Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) and Representative Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery). During the commission’s first meeting, Senator Browne and […] More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and Charter Board Partners (CBP) announced a partnership with the goal of strengthening public charter school governing boards across the country. Through this partnership, charter schools, members of charter school boards, and other stakeholders will have greater access to information, tools, and resources to support […] More »

A judge’s ruling allows the dissolving Pocono Mountain Charter School to recover roughly $288,000 in taxpayer money for rent from the church that is its landlord, but the figure is less than a quarter of what school leaders sought and likely will not be enough to pay all the final bills. Read more. More »

By Christen Smith Staff Reporter Capitolwire HARRISBURG (July 22) — The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a ruling Tuesday in favor of allowing charter schools outside of Philadelphia to expand into multiple locations. A lawyer connected to the case, Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School v. Bethlehem Area School District, described the decision as “ground breaking” […] More »

University of Arkansas Report, “The Productivity of Public Charter Schools,” Represents First National Research Tying Charter Funding to Achievement Fayetteville, Ark. – A first-ever report released today by the University of Arkansas, which ties charter school funding to achievement, finds that public charter schools are more productive than traditional public schools in all 28 states […] More »

For more than a decade, Larry Jones has been a prominent supporter of Philadelphia’s charter schools, particularly the smaller, community-based variety that proliferated in the wake of the 2001 state takeover. He has run the 350-student Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School since it opened in 2001; since 2006, he has also served as president of […] More »

School District of Philadelphia officials on Tuesday announced the “School Redesign Initiative,” inviting teachers, principals, universities and community organizations to propose and execute turnarounds at city public schools. Read more. More »

THIS IS NOT a plea for more school funding. Not even as Philly kids, teachers and parents await word on whether schools are shuttered in September for lack of funding. This is a reminder that the money’s already there. Read more. More »

By Jim Buckheit, Nathan Mains, Jay Himes, Joseph Bard and J. Hugh Dwyer. The state’s primary support for education is still distributed according to the whim of the Legislature, leaving each school district wondering annually if it will receive more, less or the same amount of state support as the previous year. Read more. More »

Achievement House Cyber Charter School has a new CEO at the helm for the next school year. Last month the school’s board of trustees named Don Asplen as the new leader, following the retirement of former CEO Timothy Daniels. Read more. More »

Pension funds and long-spent federal surplus dollars still weigh heavily on the minds of state leaders debating whether a budgetary boost to state education funding really qualifies as an increase at all. Read more. More »

Saying they recognize the need for the Spartansburg area to develop its own elementary school, Crawford County commissioners have gone on record in support of the community’s plan — and commissioners will continue to explore whether the county may be able to help financially. Read more. More »

A recently approved tweak to special education funding won’t apply to charter schools in Pennsylvania after all. State lawmakers shied away from the changes after charters argued it would have been unfair. Read more. More »

A joint meeting of the board of trustees of the Bear Creek Community Charter School and the board of directors of the Bear Creek Foundation moved the new charter school building a giant step forward Tuesday night. Read more. More »

By Rep. Seth Grove. I recently read your editorial titled “State budget fiddling hurts schools” and wanted to update you on what the now enacted 2014-15 budget does to help school districts across this commonwealth. Read more. More »

By Christen Smith Staff Reporter Capitolwire HARRISBURG (July 14) — As the dust of budget season settles around the state capitol Monday, education advocates regroup and prepare for a bigger — and arguably more complex — discussion centered on reforming how the government funds public education. It’s a debate rife with many of the same […] More »

When it comes to divvying up the state dollars going into public education, it’s good to be poor. A good chunk of the $12 billion going into education in the recently enacted 2014-15 state budget that Gov. Tom Corbett signed last week is driven out by a distribution formula that directs a disproportionate amount of […] More »

The following is a searchable database that provides state Department of Education-provided estimates of basic ed, special ed and block grant funding that these 89 districts are expected to receive in the coming school year. Read more. More »

As Gov. Tom Corbett reasserts his case for changing the retirement benefits for future state and school workers, he has emphasized a connection more tangible to voters than that of state budget pressures: increases in local property taxes. Read more. More »

By State Rep. William F. Adolph, Jr. Facts matter in making public policy. Anyone who spends more than a day working on public policy unfortunately knows that facts are regularly distorted to advance certain policy positions. Regrettably, in the editorial “Taxpayers are losers in latest state budget” on July 7, 2014, the editorial writers for […] More »

Excuse my frustration, but after reading the article in Thursday’s paper about the low state test scores and the York City School District’s plans for improving them, I feel compelled to state that it’s time to finally address the elephant in the living room. (This is a term arising from drug and alcohol counseling to […] More »

To: PCPCS Member CEOs, Governor Corbett has signed the budget and the following aspects of the budget and related legislation are of immediate importance to charters. – As predicted six months ago, the 50% PSERS reimbursement to charters from the state is eliminated starting in the 2014-2015 school year. – All of the other proposed […] More »

PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released a follow-up report of the School District of Philadelphia’s Charter School Oversight that found several schools have made significant improvements in line with recommendations made in the Controller’s 2010 report. This includes Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, at which the following conditions from the […] More »

Spending plan includes Governor’s Ready to Learn Block Grant and Ready to Succeed Scholarship Harrisburg – Governor Tom Corbett today signed into law the 2014-15 state budget that invests a record $12 billion in state funding for students in Pennsylvania’s early, basic and postsecondary education systems. This represents an increase of $323 million, or 2.8 percent, […] More »

Gov. Tom Corbett signed the state budget 10 days late on Thursday and used his line-item veto to strike $65 million from the General Assembly’s own appropriation, urging a renewed effort to cut public-sector pensions for newly hired teachers and state workers. Read more. More »

In a move that both sides say is in the best interest of their students, the Western Beaver County School District and the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center Charter School have entered into a cooperative athletic agreement. Read more. More »

The expansion of school choice in Washington, D.C., and its success with students is sending public school principals on a task not listed in their job description: They’re going door to door to recruit and retain students in the nation’s capital, where charter schools now account for 44 percent of total enrollment. Read more. More »

If there is no cigarette-tax agreement in Harrisburg by Aug. 15, Philadelphia School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said Wednesday, he will have to lay off employees and consider a delay in the opening of schools. “There’s a lot of uncertainty around what our next move is,” Hite said. Read more. More »

Applications are available now for the 2014-2015 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). With about 400 graduates in its first fifteen years, this Program is a premier professional development opportunity for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and community […] More »

The next EPLC “Focus on Education” episode will air this coming Sunday, July 13 at 3:00 p.m. on PCN television. This July 13 panel will discuss the status of the teaching profession in Pennsylvania; what it takes to become a teacher in the state; teacher preparation programs; whether there are efforts to attract more minority students to the teaching profession; why […] More »

By Christen Smith Staff Reporter Capitolwire HARRISBURG (July 9) — A new special education funding formula found 75 pages into the Fiscal Code will apply only to traditional public school districts, leaving the funding mechanism for charter school special education students untouched — for now. The apparent compromise side-steps the controversy regarding what charter schools have […] More »

Republican Gov. Tom Corbett is strongly considering using his veto power on Thursday to strike funding for the Legislature and calling a special session on pension reform, sources close to the governor say. Read more. More »

In a move that both sides say is in the best interest of their students, the Western Beaver County School District and the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center Charter School have entered into a cooperative athletic agreement. Read more. More »

The effort to get state approval for a cigarette tax to fund Philadelphia schools has suffered a setback in the state legislature as the state Senate late Tuesday afternoon amended the bill further. Read more. More »

The Pennsylvania Senate gave approval Tuesday to one final piece of the 2014-15 state budget package. The Senate’s 26-22 vote on the fiscal code bill setting out certain spending earmarks and placing rules on the use of other appropriations sends it to Gov. Tom Corbett’s desk, and sets the stage for a final decision by the […] More »

The Pennsylvania Senate gave approval Tuesday to one final piece of the 2014-15 state budget package. The Senate’s 26-22 vote on the fiscal code bill setting out certain spending earmarks and placing rules on the use of other appropriations sends it to Gov. Tom Corbett’s desk, and sets the stage for a final decision by the […] More »

Harrisburg, PA – July 7, 2013 – Local “virtual” students at Commonwealth Connections Academy turned their strong interest in game design into a reality, thanks to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Commonwealth Connections Academy’s STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) Conservatory teamed up with Harrisburg University, a STEM-focused post-secondary institution, to allow students to turn […] More »

If the York City School District brings in charter operators to take over one or more schools, the district plans to negotiate with them on rent and other services in order to make the arrangement work with the limited funds available. Read more. More »

In a surprise move, Wendell Pritchett resigned Thursday from the School Reform Commission, citing frustration with and fear for the state of public education in Philadelphia. He will be replaced by Marjorie Neff, who until June was principal of Masterman, the city’s top magnet school. Read more. More »

An amendment tucked into the cigarette-tax bill at the last minute Wednesday night helped persuade some Republicans in the state House to approve the new tax for Philadelphia schools. Read more. More »

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s hope of getting a $2-a-pack cigarette tax to keep class sizes from rising to 41 and preventing 1,300 teacher layoffs in that city’s schools still remains unfulfilled. Democratic lawmakers made a passionate, yet unsuccessful push on Tuesday evening during a House Rules Committee meeting to get the authorization for the city to impose […] More »

The attendance officer at Arise Academy Charter High School in West Oak Lane was concerned when a junior with spotless attendance missed school. Administrators made calls and found out that the agency that runs the group home where Affrika Clarke, 18, lived had abruptly moved her and her housemates in May to a motel in […] More »

For school districts in the Philadelphia region, this is one of those times when more feels like less. Although the $29.1 billion 2014-15 state spending plan approved this week by lawmakers in Harrisburg includes slightly more money for K-12 education. Read more. More »

Two years ago, the state Legislature had finally had it with the York City School District. The district’s financial crisis had gone on too long — teacher layoffs, massive tax hikes, mid-year budget shortfalls — and there was little in the way of academic progress to show for all the state funding it was receiving. […] More »

The Spartansburg community is seeking Crawford County’s backing — including a possible $350,000 loan through the county — to develop its own elementary school in the northeastern Crawford County community by the fall of 2015. Spartansburg and neighboring Sparta Township residents are seeking to form their own elementary school in the wake of Corry Area […] More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation revealed at the National Charter Schools Conference that KIPP Schools has won the 2014 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. The prize honors the public charter school network that has demonstrated the most outstanding overall student performance and has helped close achievement gaps among low-income and minority […] More »

As an issue tied to pension reform, HB1177—legislation authorizing a cigarette tax for Philadelphia—is likely dead for the summer as the administration-supported pension reform proposal in the House was sent back to committee Tuesday afternoon. Read More. More »

Hopes for much-needed reforms to the state charter school law grew brighter with Senate passage of a bill championed by state Senator Lloyd Smucker. “Charter schools are an increasingly popular education option in many communities. At the same time, people are realizing that reforms are needed to ensure that the schools are meeting performance standards […] More »

With a tenant dispute now settled, Allentown’s Roberto Clemente Charter School can expand onto former Allentown School District property, the city’s Zoning Hearing Board ruled Monday. The school, which serves grades 6-12 at 136 S. Fourth St., has proposed a 320-student elementary school at 501-509 Cedar St., the former Garfield Elementary School. The elementary, which […] More »

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett swiftly announced late Monday night that he would not sign a $29.1 billion budget the Legislature had just approved. He is holding out — at least for a night and perhaps longer — because he wants lawmakers to reduce the state’s and school districts’ pension payments to free up money […] More »